Strange Rash Sends 4 Students, Teacher To Hospital

A Broward Sheriff's HazMat team was called to Lauderdale Lakes Middle after several students and a teacher developed a strange rash.

LAUDERDALE LAKES (CBSMiami) – Four students and a teacher at Lauderdale Lakes Middle School were taken to the hospital Wednesday morning after they developed a strange rash on their bodies.

The students were taken to Plantation General Hospital for evaluation, according to Broward Schools spokesperson Marcy Smith. They were treated and the students were released to their parents. Their teacher was taken to Florida Medical Center.

A hazardous materials team responded to the school and determined the classroom that the students and teacher were in is safe. As a precautionary measure, the other students were moved to another classroom.

A code yellow lockdown, which means limited movement throughout the school, has been lifted and the school has resumed normal operations.

One of the students who developed the rash told CBS4 that he as handling some sort of mineral rock and banged it on a table. He said a bunch of powder came out of it and went airborne. He said he and his classmates didn’t notice anything until they went to their next class. That’s when the itching began.

While officials haven’t figured out what caused the strange rash, they say there is no danger to any other students.

“The students, who were all 6th graders, had a red and itchy sensation on their wrists. The teacher felt the same thing on her face. They were all transported to local hospitals as a precaution. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue has responded to the scene and were quickly able to determine that there was no hazard in the room,” said BSO’s Dani Moschella.

Just last week, a similar situation took place at McArthur High School in Hollywood where a dozen students and two teachers developed a mysterious rash on Wednesday, May 16th. The students and teachers who developed rashes were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital where they went through a decontamination process. As their rashes cleared they were released and allowed to take their clothing home in plastic bags. Health officials still haven’t determined what caused the swelling and itching.

Joan Murray

Joan Murray is an award winning reporter who joined CBS Miami in August 2001 shortly before the September 11th attacks. She was among the first to report the South Florida connection to the terrorists.
In her many years reporting in South Florida...